UF’s chapter of Turning Point USA organized a one-year anniversary vigil for conservative political activist and TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. The vigil drew in a crowd of about 150 supporters, opponents and neutrals.
Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his college speaking tour. He left behind his wife, Erika, and two young daughters.
Mikey Andre, a UF finance junior and the president of UF College Republicans, said he viewed Kirk as an “everyman.”
“Everyone sensical kind of saw a nice, normal man get shot for very simply voicing his opinions,” he said. “They saw the death of a man that was just like them, who had kids, family.”
He said Kirk will probably be remembered as one of the biggest conservative commentators of Generation Z, adding his murder only amplified his legacy.
“Most, I’m happy to say, were empathetic, even those who disagreed,” Andre said. “But a very, very loud minority, dare I say … a growing minority, had a very nihilistic approach to his death.”
The vigil
Small circles of attendees slowly formed in the hour leading up to the 8:30 p.m. vigil, growing as a crowd of mostly students populated the space in front of Library West.
Police presence was heavy, with several UFPD officers patrolling the perimeter of the Plaza of the Americas at every corner. At least five squad cars were also nearby.
UF Turning Point President and junior political science student Jordan Freeman spoke to the crowd about how Kirk’s visit to UF in the months prior to his death impacted her.
The organization’s Vice President and junior animal sciences student Sara Boatman then led the group in singing worship songs, including “Graves into Gardens” and “Holy Forever.” Five minutes into the performance, however, a circle of roughly 15 people behind the main crowd began a performance of their own.
Sundro David, a 19-year-old UF linguistics student, had brought a cello to the event and began to play. After David found his rhythm, another student with a synthesizer joined him.
Moments later, the small crowd began loudly singing “We are Charlie Kirk,” an AI-generated song originally intended to pay tribute to Kirk, but that is now largely used to mock him on social media.
The sounds from both circles clashed, and each performance grew louder.
“I wanted to come together and, despite our differences, have a good time,” David said about his motivation for bringing a cello to the vigil.
Though it’s sad Kirk died, he said he didn’t send a good message to impressionable youth on social media.
“He specifically targeted college campuses, where people are obviously a little stupid,” David said. “That’s the point of going to college, to get smarter.”
As other speakers took turns addressing the vigil’s audience, the crowd diminished to about half of its original size, with the dedicated vigil goers largely staying and the opponents of Kirk dispersing.
But about 10 minutes after the original “We are Charlie Kirk” performance ended, another person arrived with a trumpet to play along, continuing the performance. Roughly 7 renditions of the song were then played, and about 60 attendees alternated between singing along and engaging in banter.
Andre, the UF College Republicans president, delivered the final speech of the night, covering the life and legacy of Kirk, his killer’s fate, the political right and left, Gen Z conservatives and faith.
“What we fight against is only pure, unadulterated, visceral, nihilistic hatred,” Andre said. “That is where we stand.”
He said the people who celebrated Kirk’s death are “inhuman scum that deserve to be cast out of society.”
“They do not belong with the civilized, but with the crooked and wicked that rebel in their destitution of compassion and empathy,” he said.
As vigil attendees stand together in solemnity and honor a man who wanted to be remembered by one thing – his faith in Jesus Christ – Andre said they will wait for the day Kirk’s killer is rotting in prison or sentenced to death.
An audience member shouted in agreement, and the crowd’s applause followed before Andre asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence, prayer and reflection in honor of Kirk.
Student reactions
Catalina Reichard, a 19-year old philosophy, politics, economics and law sophomore, attended the vigil in support of Kirk. Though not a fan until after his death, she said she felt compelled to join his movement after celebrations over his death ensued.
“From the moment it happened, I knew the reaction was insanity,” she said. “I mean this is a man who was a victim of political violence, and if someone on the left was killed at a rally, I would be mourning that person.”
While she believes the vigil plays an important role in standing up against political violence, she also attended to recognize the loss Kirk’s family experienced.
“I think it’s important to come out here and remember him for who he was to so many people. He was a father, a husband and super important for the conservative moment,” she said. “And you know, just a human being.”
Dimitris Liveris, a 20-year-old UF sociology junior, attended the vigil in opposition to Kirk.
He said he also attended Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour,” at Plaza of the Americas Feb. 28, 2025, afterward saying he couldn’t support Kirk for bashing a UF history professor who took the stage to debate the historical parallels of President Donald Trump’s administration during the debate.
The UF College Republicans posted a video of the Democratic Socialists of America singing along to “We are Charlie Kirk” at the vigil, in which Liveris is pictured, on the group’s Instagram.
“I could never find myself supporting someone whose entire livelihood is built around humiliating people, especially in ways that didn’t even have any validity,” Liveris said.
The crowd had largely dispersed by 10 p.m.
Contact Christian Haas at chaas@alligator.org. Follow him on X @ChristianH58745.
Contact Ellia Mytsa at emytsa@alligator.org. Follow her on X @elliamytsa.
Ellia Mytsa is a second-year Journalism major at the University of Florida and the Fall 2026 University Administration reporter. In her free time, you can find her singing karaoke, spending time with friends, at a farmer's market, or laying in the sun.
Christian is an environmental reporter with The Alligator, and studies journalism at the University of Florida. He is a fourth-year student who prefers to spend his free time trying new and random things, cooking, reading, watching TV, or hiking.
